Holbrook fans knew that Friday’s trip to Lakeside was probably going to have an ugly turnout with the Birds and the Blue Ridge Yellowjackets on opposite ends of the spectrum at this juncture in the season. Holbrook plays hard, but Blue Ridge is a top level team in Division IV and has its sights set on a return to the title game.

Playing on their Homecoming night, the Yellowjackets wasted no time in showing who the better team was. Five first period touchdowns quickly put an end to any chances of a Roadrunner upset. Blue Ridge quarterback Skyler Hill hooked up with Danny Groebner on a 10-yard pass just over a minute into the game and the rout was on. Adam Webb scored on a five-yard run at the 5:38 mark. Holbrook had a punt blocked and returned for a score by Anthony Kinney just over a minute later. Two minutes after that, Groebner found the end zone for the second of his five touchdowns on the night. Andrew Montoya ended the first period scoring with a five-yard run, giving Holbrook a 35-0 first period deficit to look up at.

In the second period, the one-sided battle continued with another Groebner score, this time from eight yards out. Groebner then hauled in a 58-yard catch and run with just over five minutes left in the half. At the two minute mark of the half, Blue Ridge settled for a 27-yard field goal to end the first half on top, 51-0.

In the second half, the Jackets, who always throttle back on offense, scored twice on defense and added a second field goal to end the scoring on top, 68-0.

Holbrook 0 0 0 0 0

Blue Ridge 35 16 7 10 68

Blue Ridge amassed 477 yards on offense, but it was the Yellowjackets’ defense that really gave Holbrook problems through much of the night. All total, Holbrook threw nine interceptions, had one punt blocked and lost one fumble. Giving any team that many turnovers really hurts your chances. Giving a team like Blue Ridge that many will quickly take away any chance you have of winning.

Things won’t get much easier for Holbrook this week when defending 3A champion Show Low makes a visit to Roadrunner Stadium. While the Cougars are not as tough as Blue Ridge this year, they are still a team that is expected to make a deep playoff run in the new Division IV state tournament.